Gatorbait II: Cajun Justice — Gatorbait II: Cajun Justice(DVD)
Gatorbait II: Cajun Justice appeared in 1988, and was like the first film produced & directed by Texan Ferd Sebastian. And once again he & his wife Beverly wrote the films original story & screenplay. The film's plot really is a fairly similar swamp based rape, torture & revenge caper- which sees city girl Angelique getting married to her robust though good-natured Cajun husband Big T, and fairly soon after a group of sleazed swamp-billies decide to home in on the couple.
I enjoyed the idea of the first film more than the film it’s self- just finding it not living up to it’s the sleazy & cheesy promise of the film's title & taglines. With Gatorbait II: Cajun Justice everything is step up with 80’s excess- so with-in a short time we have a flight at a hick wedding, action packed-yet- silly speed boat race, between the husband & wife, and the wedding guests. As we get into the film we first get a host of soft-focused female flesh action, mixed with swamp creature interaction & cringe-inducing speedboat rides. At around the hour mark, things turn nasty with the gang turning-up at Angelique & Big T’s place, and we get sleazy tormenting- then tense, if thankfully none too graphic gang rape. Then in the last half-an-hour, we kick into revenge mode, with Angelique turning all bad-ass. Yes, it’s silly, possibly offensive to some, and cheesy as a large cheese store- but it’s a lot of great 1980’s exploration fun.
The cast, for the most part, is good- with the swap-billy gang worth a particular mention, as you get a good memorable selection of characters- we have the crusty, skinny & buck tooth leader. His long-haired backwards cap & simply brother. We get a boorish brute with an axe and the guys who’s not really into it. The soundtrack is an effective mix of twanging bluegrass guitar, Cajun music & some wonky-yet wonderful lo-if synth action.
The new print looks good enough- nicely picking out both swamp & flesh tones well, as with the first Gator Bait we get two different versions of the film- one the original English with French sub-titles (which can be switched off), and a French language version. Extras wise we get a half-an-hour feature about redneck/ Hicksploitation films- this is in French language only- it’s looks interesting enough, though I don’t under French. Next we get a fourteen minute making of- this is similar to the featurette on the first Gator Bait DVD, and it’s a retro interview with Ferd & Beverly Sebastian- this is English language with French sub-titles, and is most interesting seeing the pair talking about the locations, trying to give a more Cajun feel to the film, and the actors. Next, we get another ten or so interview- with the pair in English(with French subtitles)- this is the same interview from the first Gator Bait DVD- sadly it’s rather dull, as it just pair talking about becoming reborn Christians & running a greyhound shelter. Lastly, we get two Trailers for the film
It ’s been a little while since I reviewed the first Gator Bait film, and I was worried that this was going to be another passable swamp-based action/revenge film- so I was pleasantly surprised when it managed to distil then amp & sleaze up the promising elements of the first film. Gatorbait II: Cajun Justice certainly stands as one of the better films in Hicksploitation genre, and if you enjoy cheesy-yet sleazy 80’s action/ revenge flicks you'll really need to check this out.